


Rest in Peace

by SoraHinari



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Character Death In Dream, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Children, Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Insecure Thanatos (Hades Video Game), Long-Haired Thanatos (Hades Video Game), M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mort is a Blessing, Nightmares, One Shot, Pre-Canon, Short One Shot, Supportive Zagreus, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29195118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraHinari/pseuds/SoraHinari
Summary: Death Incarnate himself seems to have terrible nightmares. What of only he knows and he is not eager to share. He starts to even avoid his brother, afraid of sleep and what it might bring in his view... But he is thankful for his childhood friend, for without Zagreus he would never be able to rest properly.
Relationships: ThanZag, Thanatos & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 67





	Rest in Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Browsing through twitter got me inspired by this wonderful artist: https://twitter.com/soulfulweaver  
> Therefore here I am, back into the ThanZag hole writing a childhood fic~  
> I hope you enjoy!

Nights... Or days like these were always hard. Resting hours for the Underworld were rare but appreciated when they came, every resident glad to get some peace and quiet, close their eyes and slip into a long dream provided by the Incarnate of Sleep himself, the son of Nyx, Hypnos. Still in training the young god did an excellent job, to everyone but one certain individual. His own twin brother. At first Hypnos didn't pay mind to it all that much, he brushed it off, deciding that if Thanatos wanted to sleep he would, if he wanted to stay up he would... After all, even though twins, Thanatos had a lot more of serious responsibilities to be carried out upon his shoulders.

Guiding the dead was not an easy task, his mother told him so. Night Incarnate was pretty strict about work matters, and Thanatos' was a serious one both amongst mortals and gods alike. He was the bringer of death, mortals were scared of him even though he was not imposing at all... Well truth be told Hypnos was scared of seeing his brother first time in that black tunic with the hood covering most of his face, his long white hair only making his floating figure more ominous alongside his scythe. But Nyx and Hades both agreed that it was necessary, important details for the function of the circle of life, for the well oiled working machine that was the mortal cycle. 

Hypnos honestly didn't mind his brother's duties, he mainly stayed out of his way, not wanting to hinder his progress or cause him to have a backlog of 'to-do' lists like he did, mainly due to repetitive napping for more than he should. What the god of sleep truly minded was his brother's wellbeing! Thanatos kept avoiding his gaze, the conversations they had were cut short by his twin vanishing mumbling something about work as an excuse. He wondered why, so he decided one day to ask night herself. Nyx explained to her son that nightmares were invading Thanatos' mind and sadly nothing they could do helped. So from then onward, like a good brother, Hypnos always informed Nyx whenever Thanatos was having a nightmare.

This time was no different.

The tired eyes of Hypnos landed on Thanatos, curled up under a pomegranate tree in the garden, mumbling and turning on the withered grass. Worried for his condition Hypnos rushed to get their mother, hoping that maybe she could ease off the pain of his brother's dreams... But what he didn't notice is the prince of the underworld marching towards the garden, sprinting with a grin stretched on his lips and a tiny mouse nestling on the black puff of his hair. 

"THAN! THAN I FOUND MORT TORTURING SOME SPIDERS AGAIN!" the loud and excited voice of the prince boomed around the garden. His mismatched eyes landing on his friend's tossing form, making his grin turn upside down into a frown "Than?"

With careful steps the prince approached the older boy, softly settling himself down on the grass, back on the trunk of the tree and Mort now on his lap. Zagreus pondered if he should wake Thanatos up... Thinking way too much into how his friend overworked so often he decided not to. He just sat there, observing how tense Thanatos was, how his small hands were gripping tuffs of white hair, almost pulling them as the little boy started to shake. A sob came from Thanatos' lips, causing the prince of the underworld to gasp and instantly forget his hesitation, shaking Thanatos with the hand that wasn't petting Mort's tiny head. 

That alone was enough to make the golden eyes of death open, his breathing coming out rushed and rapid, trying to calm down upon seeing his best friend... Maybe his only friend but that didn't matter, it still counts as a best friend in his head anyways. After given some minutes, Thanatos calmed down, curled up more into a ball and let out a sigh... He didn't want to explain himself to his friend but he knew Zagreus would ask.

"Did you see a nightmare again Than?" 

There it was, the question the prince always asked him on such occasions. Per usual, Thanatos gave him a short nod while looking up at him, knowing very well that Zagreus didn't mind that type of answer from the small, comforting grin his friend had. Even if it did look kind of silly to see such a bright smile in such a grim place, Hades' son reminded Thanatos of the sun he saw so many times up at the surface... If the sun had a face and a chipped out tooth that is... 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

For that question the answer was a shake of his head, signaling 'no'. Even if he wanted, Thanatos could never speak out loud about his nightmares. It wasn't that he was scared to share them, or to be made fun of, or to even be considered weak. It was the fact that talking about them would worry everyone he cared about, especially Zagreus. How could he tell his friend that his nightmares revolved around him? How could he describe out loud the gruesome deaths he saw on the surface but twice as worse since they were happening with Zag? Simple, he couldn't. Therefore Thanatos kept his mouth shut about them, only answering with nods to the prince whenever questions about them arise.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Thanatos felt a hand on his white locks. Surprised, he looked back, to see if maybe his mother reached them already and yet it was not his mother, but Zagreus who was combing through his hair. Small hands, equally small as his, twirling and curling long pieces of white, strands so soft as if they were slick, letting out small giggles as they slipped out of his grasp only to grab a new piece to twirl. Blinking with his golden gaze, Thanatos tilted his head, Mort copying his movements from Zagreus' lap with a squeak.

"Zag? What exactly are you doing to my hair? You know they are not curly like Hypnos' even if we are twins..." Thanatos stated as a mater of fact, making Zagreus just chuckle out loud, his grin bright as ever while directed to his friend.

"Of course I know that dummy! But it calms you down! Whenever I do this you seem to relax so... I thought maybe it could help you sleep better? Rest a little bit before you go up there again?" the prince suggested, slowly slipping down on the grass himself next to the son of night.

At first Thanatos blinked, trying to piece together what was said, but soon he let himself go, enveloped in the feeling of his hair getting twirled and played with. It did relax him, the soft movements and small tugs made him lower his eyelids, closing his eyes and curling up more relaxed. He felt something laying in his hands, causing himself to open his eyes for a split second before closing them again with a small smile, noticing how the mouse he and Zagreus were taking care of was also curled up in his palms, a perfect fit someone could say considering their small sizes.   
Although glad he was able to help his friend, finally content at how Thanatos was now asleep next to him, the prince of the underworld didn't account in him getting sleepy too. Truth be told he also liked messing around with Than's hair, they were soft and nice to the touch, it reminded him of how smooth Nyx's dress was when he tugged on it, they were so similar in fact that he thought he saw the goddess of night from the corner of his eye, but he couldn't confirm it. His own mismatched eyes slowly fluttered closed, both green and red orbs hidden behind heavy eyelids as Hypnos worked his magic, causing even the restless prince to fall into the hands of his associate, Morpheus.

When Hypnos brought her the news, Nyx was pre-occupied in the administrative chamber next to Hades, delaying to notice her son and the news he brought her. But when she did hear the situation, her first instinct was to find the prince. She searched the house, not that there were many places to search, she even looked under the tables of the lounge but nothing. When her search was to no avail, that was when she decided to venture into the garden, to try and calm down her son. Even Nyx didn't expect to see both her son and the prince sleeping next to each other, Mort resting between them covered by some white waves that Zagreus was holding in his fingers still. Her serious expression softened, she thought of waking them up to make them lay to a proper bed... But alas, she decided against it, walking into the prince's room, fetching a blanket from the chest they were stored only to walk outside again. With quiet steps, as if within the shadows themselves, the goddess made her way towards the two boys, covering their bodies half way with the fetched blanket, placing a soft kiss on both on their foreheads before returning to her duties, hoping that maybe the prince could help her son sleep peacefully for once.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> Thank you for reaching the end of this short one shot!  
> I hope you liked reading through my work!  
> Kudos and Comments are always appreciated and please don't forget to check out the amazing artist that inspired this fic!


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